This invention relates generally to an improved V-belt for joining together a pair of rotatable pulleys, and, as shown in one example, to a fan belt for a conventional vehicle engine that couples the fan pulley (and possibly other engine accessory pulleys together) with the crank shaft pulley.
One of the problems experienced heretofore with a conventional combustion engine is that oftentimes the "fan belt" may become destroyed while the vehicle is in operation, many miles from a service station or mechanic shop. On most conventional vehicle engines, it is impossible to drive the vehicle for any distance without a fan belt because the engine could easily overheat, causing great damage to the motor. In such a case, the vehicle must either be towed in or a new fan belt installed at the particular location of the vehicle. In order to install a new fan belt, in many vehicles one of the pulleys to be joined must be physically moved closer to the other pulley enough so that the belt will fit over the groove in each pulley. Many people, due to lack of mechanical know-how or proper tools, are not capable of installing a new fan belt. This usually requires a wrench or tool to loosen at least one pulley mount and another tool apply tension on the belt while tightening the pulley mount back to a desired position.
Another problem encountered when a fan belt fails in a remote area is to find a service station that stocks a fan belt of the correct size.
The present invention overcomes the problems of the prior art by providing a pulley belt that is useful on any type of conventional vehicle that employs a V-belt system which can be readily installed without elaborate tools, which does not require that the pulleys be moved relative to each other or adjusted in any way, and which can accommodate any type of vehicle engine pulleys regardless of pulley diameter, separation distance, or location. Another benefit of the present invention is that moveable brackets heretofore used for mounting accessories having pulleys can be replaced with integrally formed rigid brackets which attach to the engine.